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Who sends a workflow email and why it may not send

A workflow email or signature request goes out from one account's connected Gmail or Microsoft inbox. Which account that is depends on the From (sender) setting on the block. This page covers how to choose the sender and the recipient, and what to check when an email is not sent.

Who the email comes from

The From setting on an email or Request signatures block has two kinds of value:

  • Workflow Runner: the email comes from whoever starts the run. If a HubSpot workflow starts it, that is the person the run is attributed to, so the From address can differ from one run to the next.
  • A named address: the email always comes from that address, for example the workflow owner's own inbox or a verified alias.

If your emails show different From addresses across workflows or runs, check whether the block is set to Workflow Runner.

Send from one fixed address

To make every email come from a specific address that is not yours, such as a shared team inbox:

  1. Invite that address to your team as a Portant user.
  2. Sign in to Portant with that account and connect its Google Drive and Gmail (or Microsoft account).
  3. Move the workflow to that account, so it becomes the workflow owner.
  4. Open the workflow. In each Request signatures and email block, change From from Workflow Runner to the new owner's address, then save.
  5. Share every template and output folder the workflow uses with the new account. A run fails with a file access error when the new owner cannot open the template.
  6. Run a test and check the From address on the result.

Tip: To send from an alias, the alias must belong to the account that owns the workflow. See Send from aliases.

Choose the recipient

When a HubSpot record has several associated contacts, a signature request goes to the contact named in the recipient setting of the block. If it reaches the wrong person:

  1. Open the Request signatures block.
  2. Remove the default Customer recipient.
  3. Add the HubSpot association label of the contact who should receive it, for example a dealer contact label.
  4. Save and run a test.

Copy the person who ran the workflow

Add {{Workflow Runner}} to the Bcc field of an email block, such as the signature completed email, and the person who started the run gets a copy. See Global tags.

If an email is not sent

Documents are created but the email or signature request fails, and the run shows a signature request or email error:

  1. Open Settings in Portant.
  2. Disconnect the Microsoft (or Google) connection that sends the email, then connect it again.
  3. Run the workflow again as a test.

A Microsoft connection can stop working when the account that owns the workflow has not signed in to Portant for a while. Signing in to Portant with the owner account now and then keeps it connected.

If the error returns after you reconnect, contact support with the workflow name and the time of the run.